1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product sampler package for presenting a fluid product sampler in a manner which complies with postal regulations for insertion in magazines, catalogs, periodicals, etc. under the subscription or periodicals rate classification for delivery to consumers through the mail system. The product sampler may contain a product having a fluid or volatile base such as water or other organic solvent. Examples of such products include, for example, liquid cosmetics, lotions, creams, gels, fragrances, ointments, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many manufacturers of cosmetics, toiletries, beauty and skincare products, etc. commonly promote their products by distributing free samples or applications to current or potential consumers with the goal of building and/or maintaining customer loyalty for the products or product lines. One method of distributing such samples has been to give them to potential customers in a store in which the product is sold. A further reaching, more effective method has been to mail the sampler packages to a targeted audience through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Typically, the samplers are mailed as inserts in brochures, catalogs, magazines, or the like.
For distribution through the USPS, the samplers can be mailed either under a non-discounted rate classification or under a more economical periodical/subscription rate classification. To qualify for classification under the subscription rate, each sampler package must comply with certain guidelines set by the USPS. For example, certain of these guidelines specify that the unit must be firmly affixed to a carrier card or to a page of the periodical, and that the sampler must be designed to allow the product to be tested while still in the periodical.
In addition to the requirements set by the USPS, it is generally desirable that the sampler packages be non-bulky for distribution as inserts and also flexible enough to avoid breakage in shipment or storage yet rigid enough to facilitate high speed insertion into the carrier medium. Further, each sampler unit preferably provides approximately one unit dose of the product in an attractive display having artwork or informational copy print printed thereon while providing a transparent or translucent cover film. A sampler package having these aesthetic features will encourage the potential customer to sample the product and enable the consumer to view the actual product to thereby choose the preferred shade or color prior to opening the package.
The advertising sampler disclosed in Parrotta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,831 is an example of a prior art package which has been used for cosmetic sampling purposes. A relatively thin paste-like transfer layer of a cosmetic product is coated onto a substrate affixed to a carrier card which can be inserted into magazines and catalogues for mass distribution. The product sample is covered by a transparent protective film which is held in place by a glue strip.
The sampler package of Parrotta is generally suitable for products having a substantially solid or highly viscous consistency such as eyeshadow, pressed powder, and lipstick, as the nature of these products allows for a long shelf life. Specifically, the types of cosmetic preparations listed above are capable of remaining compositionally stable under normal indoor environmental conditions for a relatively long period of time. Therefore, the integrity of such product samples can be readily sustained in such a sampler package until use by a consumer without concern about the materials or sealing methods used.
When the product to be sampled is more fluid and/or volatile such as a liquid or gel, on the other hand, prior art cosmetic samplers such as that of Parrotta fail to provide sufficient product longevity. In designing a sampler package for a fluid or volatile product, it is especially important to seal the package in a manner which prevents leakage and rapid evaporation of the product, and also to include an effective barrier layer in the material containing the product sample to maintain the compositional integrity of the product for the desired shelf-life of the samplers.
Several attempts have been made to produce a better sampler package to retain fluid products, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,391,420 and 5,879,769 to Bootman et al. and Greenland, respectively. These samplers provide hermetically sealed label-type packages which include either a metallized barrier layer such as foil or a polymeric barrier layer such as polyethylene or a PVDC coated film for the distribution of fluid or volatile products.
One disadvantage with such label-type prior art fluid samplers is that no portion control is provided. Once the sampler is opened, therefore, the user is left with two separated and messy pieces of film, and the entirety of any unused contents of the sampler remains exposed which can lead to spillage of the remaining contents as well as rapid drying out or evaporation of the product.
Another disadvantage with many prior art samplers designed for fluid product samples is that the product sample is sealed in a package using foil as a moisture barrier layer to prolong shelf life of the sample. Although foil is known to be the most effective type of flexible barrier film against moisture and vapor transmission, the foil layer necessarily renders the package opaque. Thus, samplers which seal the product in foil laminates are most suitable for sampling products such as perfumes or creams, where the color or appearance of the product being sampled does not significantly affect the likelihood of purchase of the product.
The nature of other types cosmetics, on the other hand, such as foundation, is such that a consumer will only consider sampling, and subsequently purchasing, the cosmetic if the shade matches her skin tone or the product is otherwise to her liking. With these products, it is especially important that the sampler package provide a means for a consumer to view the product color or texture before actually opening the unit so as to facilitate selection of the appropriate color.
The polymeric barrier layers such as those disclosed in Bootman and Greenland above can be transparent, so that when used to form the package, the actual product can be viewed through the package without opening the package. However, the polyethylene or PVDC coated film of Bootman and Greenland, while more effective than many other known types of transparent films as barriers against moisture and vapor transmission, do not provide a sufficiently long shelf-life for practical distribution of fluid product samples. Since the samplers may be placed in storage or display for a significant amount of time before being distributed to or obtained by a consumer, and may thereafter be set aside for an additional length of time before use, a liquid product sample contained in one of these samplers has a tendency to substantially dry up often before the consumer has an opportunity to sample the product.
Another type of transparent film known to be used as a moisture barrier is a SiOx coating which has a much lower moisture vapor transmission rate than conventional films such as those mentioned previously and including PVDC coated films. Presently, SiOx is commonly used as a coating on PET bottles and containers. This material, however, is similar to a coating of glass, and is too rigid for use in insert-type cosmetic sampler packages which must withstand a certain degree of flexing and bending during handling. When the silane material is folded or flexed, the moisture vapor barrier properties are severely compromised due to fracturing or cracking of the silane coating.
As demonstrated herein, none of the prior art sampler packages allow a consumer to view the actual product through the packaging while maintaining the compositional integrity of a fluid product sample for a satisfactory time period.
In view of the foregoing discussion, it is therefore desirable to package a product sampler for containing a fluid or volatile product as an insert in periodical literature in a manner which satisfies the requirements for subscription rate classification as set by the U.S. Postal Service.
It is also desirable to provide an arrangement with a liquid product sampler affixed to literature or a carrier card, wherein the liquid product sample contained in the sampler can be tested by a consumer without contaminating the product with ink printed on the card or literature, and without soiling the printed information on the card or literature.
Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a cosmetic sampler for a fluid or volatile product which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art noted above. In particular, it is desirable to provide a sampler package, specifically one which allows a consumer to view the shade of the product while preventing the solvent base from evaporating quickly through the sampler material or the sealing points therebetween, and which is flexible enough to avoid breakage in shipment yet rigid enough to permit high speed insertion of package into the carrier medium.
More preferably, it is desirable to provide a product sampler which is relatively flexible and is transparent or translucent to enable viewing of the product sample therethrough, and which also provides moisture vapor barrier qualities on par with that of product samplers which seal the product entirely in foil-containing laminates.
The present invention achieves each of the effects outlined above by securely attaching a product sampler to an insert card to be inserted into a catalog, brochure, magazine, etc., in which the product sampler is made from a composite laminate including a transparent or translucent nonmetallic barrier layer having a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) substantially equivalent to that of a foil film. Specifically, the barrier film used in the present invention has a moisture vapor transmission rate of less than 0.30 g/100 in2/24 hrs @100xc2x0 F., 90% RH. Preferably, the barrier film has an MVTR of no greater than about 0.065 g/100 in2/24 hrs @100xc2x0 F., 90% RH. More preferably, the barrier film has an MVTR between about 0.02 to 0.04 g/100 in2/24 hrs @100xc2x0 F., 90% RH. Additionally, the film is sufficiently flexible so that it may be flexed without cracking.
One preferred material used in the present invention as the nonmetallic barrier layer is a biaxially oriented polyvinylidene chloride film which is included in the composite laminate used to form the sampler package. The structure of the biaxially oriented PVDC film provides superior moisture vapor barrier qualities, while also being thermoformable and having a high resistance to heat and humidity.
Another preferred material for the nonmetallic barrier layer is a modified fluoropolymer film, specifically a polychlorotrifluoroethylene film (PCTFE). PCTFE exhibits a moisture vapor transmission rate similar to biaxially oriented PVDC.
The use of these types of films to form the barrier layer in a composite laminate advantageously permits the production of a transparent cosmetic sampler package which is capable of maintaining the integrity of a product sample to approximately the same extent as if the product was sealed in an entirely foil based laminate package or in a capped bottle or jar. The composite laminate has a thickness which retains the necessary flexibility to withstand flexing yet provides sufficient rigidity to resist wrinkling or folding when inserted into magazines, newspapers, etc.
In the present invention, the biaxially oriented polyvinylidene chloride or polychlorotrifluoroethylene film is preferably laminated with the other layers by adhesive lamination, but may also be laminated by coextrusion. Each layer in the composite laminate is transparent or translucent, including the barrier layer film, so as to enable viewing of the color and texture of the product contained therein.
The product sampler is formed by sealing together a top and a bottom composite laminate to form a pouch in a desired shape for containing the product sample and includes a window through which the product may be viewed. The pouch is shaped to include a nozzle and is perforated across the nozzle so that the sampler can be easily opened and the product can be controllably dispensed through the nozzle.
For distribution through the mail system or to disseminate information about the product to consumers concurrently with the product sample, the sampler is affixed to a carrier card which may be inserted into a magazine, periodical, brochure or other literature. A sampling surface is provided on the carrier card so that the fluid product expelled from the opened pouch flows onto the sampling surface. The sampling surface prevents the product from becoming contaminated with printing ink when released onto the carrier card. The carrier card is also protected from the liquid product being absorbed into the card material and thereby soiling any information contained on the card, such as any coupons provided thereon.
The sampler package of the present invention is suitable for use with cosmetic type products having a solvent base containing water and/or other organic solvent, including but not limited to liquids including liquid cosmetics, creams, gels, lotions, ointments, shampoos, perfumes, fragrances, and other forms of semi-liquids, semi-solids, personal care products and beauty aids, etc.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.